The House and Senate budget bills introduced this week exclude Medicaid expansion, one of Gov. Matt Mead’s signature budget items, and rely instead on a patchwork of health care measures.

Medicaid expansion proponents failed to get the program back into the budget Monday, after the Joint Appropriations Committee stripped it from the Department of Health account in January. Mead estimated that expanding Medicaid would save the Department of Health $10 million while the status quo would cost another $23 million — a total win for Wyoming of $33 million.

Several studies have estimated that expanding Medicaid would be a net positive to Wyoming health care patients, providers and the overall economy by even more than that — hundreds of millions of dollars.

Some Medicaid expansion advocates say they expect the health-care measure will be offered in a budget amendment. But members in the House and the Senate see little chance Medicaid expansion will pass in any form this year.

Instead, attention has shifted to Senate File 86, and several other patchwork measures to help health care providers and an estimated 20,000 Wyoming residents who are left in the so-called “Medicaid gap.”

“There is no grand plan to take care of the folks who are left in the gap between currently eligible for Medicaid and eligible to be on the exchange and can’t afford insurance — there is nothing,” Rep. Eric Barlow (R-Gillette) said. “Now, we’re doing smaller things around it,” the Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Committee member said.

Scott proposes expansion alternative

Sen. Charlie Scott (R-Casper)

SF 86 “Medical Assistance Program Design” calls for a $20,000, 2-year study and is sponsored by longtime Affordable Care Act critic Sen. Charlie Scott (R-Casper). The bill calls for “a medical assistance program for people who cannot afford adequate health care” while also prohibiting Medicaid expansion, the co-chairman of the Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Committee said .

Despite that prohibition, Sen. Scott described the bill as a cost-controlled state version of Medicaid expansion. “This is a compromise solution where we can put sideboards on Medicaid expansion,” Scott told WyoFile. “It’s clear to me as I count the votes that the pure expansion does not have, and has not had in this Legislature, the support to pass it. So we’re saying, OK, what can we do that could potentially build that support so that it could pass?”

SF 86 includes a work requirement and other built-in welfare reforms.

“Medicaid expansion that’s proposed right now is pure Obamacare — make as many people dependent on the government as possible,” Scott said. “And this, we’re looking for a way off it.”

Marguerite Herman of the Wyoming League of Women Voters, which supports Medicaid expansion, said SF 86 is an attempt to provide political cover for those who oppose expansion, just as with other failed expansion alternatives.

Gov. Mead had offered his own Medicaid expansion alternative, the SHARE Plan developed by the Wyoming Department of Health, in 2014. It earned some support among expansion advocates as an alternative to full Medicaid expansion. But Scott successfully added an amendment to the SHARE plan that other lawmakers thought complicated the fiscal workings, eventually leading to the demise of the SHARE Plan proposal in the 2015 legislative session.

Patchwork alternative

Rep. Eric Barlow (R-Gillette)

Apart from SF 86, lawmakers proposed about 17 bills that attempt to bring relief to health care patients and providers, in lieu of Medicaid expansion.

“These are small pieces in a very big puzzle that over time help fill in some of these access gaps,” Rep. Barlow said. “It doesn’t fix insurance, or help people afford their premium payments or deductibles. It doesn’t do any of those things in a direct way.”

Barlow said he would have liked to have seen Medicaid expansion brought to the Legislature in a stand-alone bill, rather than in Gov. Mead’s budget.

Joint Labor and Health Committee co-chairwoman Rep. Elaine Harvey (R-Lovell) said she believes Medicaid expansion is unattainable for Wyoming because of fear that the federal government won’t make good on its commitment to help fund it. Meantime, the state has provided minor relief for hospitals with high uncompensated care costs, supported rural healthcare clinics and nursing home care, she said.

“Without Medicaid expansion, we’ve got to do something,” Harvey said. “It’s important to continue to look for ways to help our citizens.”

Reader Interactions

Comments

I am very saddened to read your report indicating all is lost, when there is still an amendment being proposed in the Senate. You give the impression that our efforts are not worthy of consideration or support; one group even considered recalling their lobbyist based on this article. This may indeed be our last stand, but we would like to think we are not standing alone.

This is “feel-better” effort by a bunch of hypocrites who want to be re-elected, no matter what the cost for denying health care to the poor and ramping up the opportunity to close small rural hospitals. They should hang their heads in shame instead of crowing “we did something” that basically amounted to nothing.

My family has been hit hard by Obamacare: in spite of the phony promise “if you like your plan you can keep your plan”, our costs have doubled. This attempt to lure Wyoming into expanded Medicare coverage is pure, phony Obamacare.
If Wyoming takes the money that the Feds are waving at us, here is what we can expect: At some point down the road that money will disappear, because the promise is phony. This is inevitable. The Federal government is nearly $20 trillion in debt. They are printing money to cover the shortfall. This cannot last forever.
When the inevitable occurs, the people who are screaming “take the Federal money now” will be screaming “raise state taxes to maintain this coverage”. And the added tax burden will fall on people like my family and I because, in it’s every aspect, Obamacare is a system designed to redistribute wealth from the productive and self-reliant to dependent Democratic voters.
I encourage the Legislature to hold the line. We’ve already had too many phony promises.

I cannot believe that a rational legislature (did I say rational)? would fall for
Charlie’s siren song again. But it is the easy way out–the proposal won’t do anything but constituents can be told that their legislator voted for something to help provide medical care, however deceptive. The Equality State? Depends on your definition.

I hope people do not read this and give up letting legislators know that delaying Medicaid expansion again is a bad idea, not only for the 20,000 poor who could be covered, but also our community hospitals and balancing the budget in general. It definitely should be a part of the budget. 31 states have adopted Medicaid expansion. There’s no sensible reason for waiting. People need to keep speaking out.

Great lead story to a troubled legislative body, for now the people do see Wyoming’s grand party of the good old boys. I guess us taxpayers will double down on a $20,000 dollar study, which is again another waste. Senator Scott you’ve had at least four years to come up with a plan and this is the best you can describe to the people. Did you ever think these roles would increase with layoffs of Wyoming men and Wyoming in these industries, oh that’s right boom cycle will come back. I guess Rep. Harshmans option of an alternative plan was tied into these comments. I guess it lives up to Cowboy ethics right, you ride for the brand called yourselves and lobbyist.

Senator Scott and his fellow legislators should be ashamed of putting their dislike of President Obama above their concern for Wyoming citizens. Have they any idea about what it is like to need major surgery and not have health insurance? Do their “principles” include a concern for individual life?